De Niro, Spielberg petition for director

Robert De Niro, Robert Redford and Steven Spielberg have reportedly joined forces in a bid to persuade the Iranian government to release incarcerated filmmaker Jafar Panahi.

The Iranian director was arrested after the police raided his home in Tehran on March 10 and has since allegedly been held in the city's Evin prison, reports Contactmusic.

Actors and directors including De Niro and Spielberg have come together to fight for the filmmaker's freedom, signing a petition calling for Panahi's release.

The document reads: "We... stand in solidarity with a fellow filmmaker, condemn this detention, and strongly urge the Iranian government to release Mr Panahi immediately. Like artists everywhere, Iran's filmmakers should be celebrated, not censored, repressed and imprisoned."

Other filmmakers who have signed include Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Joel and Ethan Coen, Ang Lee, Oliver Stone and Michael Moore.